A Common Household Toxin

M.E.E. from Canada asks for more information concerning toxins found in our everyday homes and lives.

You’ve probably heard that Teflon releases toxins while cooking on high temperatures. Okay, this is in the back of our minds, yet we cook with what is readily available and is easy, like the non stick pans, making cleaning easier, not to mention quicker. Yet, do we stop and weigh the risks of convenience?

Just to bring this a little more personal, more than a year after the FDA urged companies to ban the use of PFOA, the chemical used in making Teflon, reports of new toxic side effects keep on coming.

PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid), also known as C8, is a key chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and the protective coating that prevents grease stains on boxes and wrappers.
Preliminary findings of a study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have linked the chemical to lower birth weights among newborns.
The study sampled the blood of 300 newborns and looked at their blood levels of a variety of fluorinated chemicals in relation to their birth weight, head circumference and other developmental markers.
The higher the level of exposure the infants had to PFOA, the lower their birth weight and head size.

95 percent of Americans, including children, have PFOA in their blood. PFOA has been classified as a “likely carcinogen,” and previous studies have indicated that it can cause adverse effects in laboratory animals. However, it is not currently regulated by federal environmental laws.
Something else you should be warned about concerning this is that the containers of many of the useless, health-harming processed foods you see in the grocery store, ranging from candy bars to French fry boxes to microwave popcorn, are lined with Teflon.

You can take matters into your own hands by enacting a personal ban on cookware and paper products tainted with PFOA. The first step is to toss out every pan in your house that has Teflon on it. The moment you heat the pan it starts to vaporize and this toxic chemical will go into your bloodstream. I know it is hard to believe, but if it could kill the birds in the same room, think what it does to your family.

I prefer to go the ‘extra mile’ and offer solutions to how to make healthy choices and changes. I haven’t written yet on the harmful effects of cooking with aluminum cookware, but I hope you are not using aluminum as well. Stainless steel is sturdy and is a good heat conductor, evenly distributing the heat and retaining it, but my favorite is something your grandmother and all your favorite aunts used to use. Cast iron skillets. Cast Iron is a superior conductor of heat. The even thickness of the base, walls and lid means that heat distribution is even and energy efficient. Furthermore, the heat retention properties of the pieces are second to none, ensuring that the pot stays hot. Cookware can be used on the stovetop, in the oven and under the grill. It is suitable for use on all heat sources including electric, gas, ceramic, halogen to and induction and can go right into your oven. You don’t have to be as concerned with food sticking if you are moving more toward steaming your foods, but that is another article..
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblo